From remembering his college days, to getting candid about many other things, the veteran was in his element.

Set to don the role of a crime journalist in Despatch, who gets into trouble as he probes a scam, Bajpayee revealed, “This character is only grey, it’s not a journalist who is a hero. I find heroes in ordinary people doing extraordinary things. We are all heroes of our own story.”

Also read: EXCLUSIVE I Manoj Bajpayee reveals the first time he had a drink: ‘It happened in the barsati of Kamla Nagar, Delhi’

The conversation soon steered towards the four-time National Award winner completing 30 years of his career in 2024. Does he reflect on far he has come, considering it is currently his most prolific phase? “I have started feeling it now, since a couple of years. My life and career hasn’t been easy. It has been a difficult journey where you get films, and then there is a lull. The Mumbai film industry is mainly dominated by mainstream filmmakers. It never had a respectful place for an actor like me. I had to wait for films, stories or directors. What do you do in those circumstances? I chased good directors, films. Because of that effort, directors like Kanu Behl, Devashish Makhija happen to you,” he smiled, in conversation with Sonal Kalra, Chief Managing Editor.

Since he brought up directors, the gathering couldn’t help but ask Bajpayee about his reunion with Ram Gopal Varma. The duo has worked in classics such as Satya (1998). The actor assured, “There is something, I am sorting my dates. With Ramu, it’s never about filmmaker and actor. There is too much of indebtedness within me. Here was a guy who saw me, immediately believed in my calibre, kept backing me, and even now he takes great pride in Manoj Bajpayee.”

And he is also working with filmmaker Shekhar Kapur on the sequel to Masoom (1983), titled Masoom 2, “He called me and said ‘do you want to make a guest appearance?’ I said ‘yes’ If he even asked me to stand in a corner, I will do it. There is a lot of gratefulness in me.”